1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wall construction and, more particularly, to an easily installable and demountable prefabricated wall system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Demountable wall systems are frequently employed to provide a room enclosure. In the past, conventional demountable wall systems have comprised prefabricated components generally including a relatively elaborate supporting framework with vertical studs extending from floor to ceiling, wall panels, a means for attaching the panels to the framework, and various trim elements and appurtenances. The wall panels have been attached to the framework or studs by fasteners such as screws or bolts, or by snap-in arrangements wherein the panels have edge flanges engaging recesses in the frame members.
Framed demountable wall systems have been provided as single-sided, having wall panels on only one side of the framework, or as double sided, having wall panels on both sides of the framework. In double-sided walls, either the framing elements must have wall panel attachments on both sides, or two sets of one-sided framing elements must be used back to back. Whether single-sided or double-sided, such framed wall systems require a relatively large number of components and a great deal of installation time and effort.
More recently, studless demountable wall systems have been provided. Such studless systems generally employ a head track affixed to the room ceiling, a base runner affixed to the room floor, and wall panels extending between the head track and the floor runner. The absence of studs or other floor-to-ceiling framing and the reduction of the number of components greatly reduces the expense of fabrication and installation.
Studless wall systems have been provided as single-sided or double-sided. In double-sided applications, either a pair of back-to back wall panels is used, or a single wall panel is provided with wall facings on both sides.
Several performance considerations are important in the design, manufacture, and installation of demountable wall systems. It is desirable that the components be completely shop-fabricated, with a minimum of cutting, fitting, or finishing effort required of the installers at the room site. When installed, the wall should present a smooth and continuous surface with adjacent wall panels in planar alignment. The system should be installable in as little space as possible. Variations or movement in the floor or ceiling should be accommodated. The wall system should eliminate the transmission of vibrations between floor and ceiling.
Demountable wall systems may be used as clean rooms. In this application, an enclosure is required in which a highly sanitary and uncontaminated environment may be maintained. For example, clean rooms are often used in facilities for the manufacture and assembly of electronic components, or as laboratories in the biological sciences. The walls of clean rooms must have flat and smooth surfaces which will not tend to catch and accumulate dust and other contaminants an which will not interfere with a laminar flow of room air. The wall surfaces must be smooth and durable to facilitate cleaning. The vertical seams between panel edges should be easily sealed, even when one or both panel edges have been field cut. The details of the panel edge connections should not interfere with the installation of the panel in tight spaces.
Each of the wall systems known in the past have failed to satisfy one or more of the above-mentioned criteria. For example, framed systems require a large degree of field fabrication and installation effort. Snap-on or fastener mounted panels require special panel edge details making it impracticable to field cut a panel to a narrower width. Systems having wall panels extending substantially the entire distance from floor to ceiling require that the panels be installed and removed by swinging the top or bottom of the panel into the room a substantial distance in order to clear the floor and ceiling.
One type of studless, double-sided wall system employs a downwardly opening channel head track and wall panels having resilient gaskets along the top edges of the wall panels which are received within the channel. Since each wall panel has its own pair of top edge gaskets, there is a break between the gaskets of adjacent panels which allows the panels to fall out of alignment and which forms a discontinuity in the seal between the panels and the channel.
Thus there is an unmet need for a demountable wall system that is studless, requires a minimum of field fabrication and finishing, is economically manufactured, is easily installed in a minimum of space, provides vibration isolation, is self-aligning, is suitable for use as a clean room enclosure, and that otherwise meets all the aforementioned criteria.